While Brady Coates knows his hands are important to his golf swing, those same hands are about to be much more important when it comes to his classroom work when he sets foot on a college campus this fall. See, Coates plans to major in pre-med (en route to hopefully becoming a surgeon) as well as minoring in piano performance after overcoming his own medical issues.—by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider

Coates, a Palo Verde High School graduate, will be enrolled at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Fall of 2025.

Coates will be on a partial academic scholarship and also recently earned a $10,000 scholarship from the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association Vincent and Pamela Immordino Scholarship .

“It’s a great honor to receive the scholarship and I thank Mr. and Mrs. Immordino and the SNJGA,” Coates said. “It’s definitely going to help me as I look to reach my goals in college and beyond.”

Coates said he’s looking forward to his time at Ole Miss, but there is trepidation.

“There’s going to be a lot of independence and I’m going to have to make sure I make the right choices,” he said. “I’m just going to do my best to figure it out. It’s all part of growing up. Plus, my parents will be just a phone call away and I’ll still be back during school breaks. It’s going to be weird living without them…there’s a lot of mixed emotions.”

He credited his time in the SNJGA with a lot of his progress…on and off the course.

 “The people I met and the tournaments I got to play through the SNJGA really helped me grow,” he said. “They really were great to work with and you can tell they care about making sure everyone has a great experience.”

Now it’s on to college life.

“School will definitely be my top priority,” he said. “Especially with my aspirations of being some form of surgeon. It’s going to be a challenge to make everything work out but I’m ready to give it my best.”

And then there’s the golf factor.

“I’ll try to walk on my freshman year,” he said. “The team is one of the best in the country right now so it won’t be easy. If I don’t make it as a freshman, there is a good club team as well and playing there won’t be out of the question. Overall, it’s going to be a great place to really try to improve my game.”

Ah yes, his golf game. He said it’s in a pretty solid place right now but, as with every player, there’s still room for improvement.

“The best part of my game right now is my short game…by a mile,” he said. “From 40 yards in I’m really dialed in. My driver is something I’m working on. I’m spraying some drives more than I want and I need to get it fine-tuned.”

But the main thought right now is his future off the golf course.

“I had some pretty bad medical issues in the past,” he said. “I had a bacterial infection that weakend my immune system. I was in the ER for three days and then in the regular hospital for two days after that. It was an infection that just seemed to get worse. But the doctors got it under control and helped me through a tough time and I think I’d like to give that feeling back.”

Be sure to check back for future articles on other SNJGA and Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame 2025 recipients. In all, the SNJGA awarded more than $40,000 in scholarships and the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame awarded $20,000. The two organizations work together to organize and award annual scholarships.